On the other hand, if his exact wording was "joke" characters, he might have been referencing Gamzee and the Mirthful Doctrine, which might be a reason to bring them back. I know he said that Meenah was sort of an apology to the people who had Feferi as their troll, and bringing her back might be a way to make her a character they could be proud of. I have no argument for Eridan though.

mostly, it was just "that's mean." most kids do have a conscience, and telling them that they're being mean is enough to trigger that. Kids want praise; praising them when they do something good is basically the same thing, but on the other side.

I'd say make your confirmation; it's not like you're being beaten or anything, it's just a ceremony. I know that as an atheist, you don't want to and it goes against your beliefs, but if they're paying for your food, clothing, shelter, and possibly college, now isn't the time to argue. In a few years you'll be in college and you can stop being so religious, but a confirmation isn't the end of the world, and it won't make you permanently Christian. You can still escape ;)

I think that mocking is more hurtful; people tend to get defensive when their beliefs are mocked, and end up convincing themselves even more that they are right. Logic isn't helpful either, considering that believing in most religions requires suspension of logic; spouting it at them won't help. Personally, when it comes to conversion, I find it more useful to show that people don't have to believe in god in order to be good, and then wait until they see the light themselves; when it comes to short-term rights, such as gay marriage, it's better to focus on that rather than on the bible, or counter bible quotes with other bible quotes.

You don't sound like an atheist so much as an agnostic: those who don't really believe either way. Atheists are more hardcore: if science can't prove it, atheists don't believe in it. What might happen after death doesn't play into that, because Heaven hasn't been proven to exist. But when it comes to your specific situation, I do get it; one of my friends went through an anti-religion phase a few years ago when she found out that some of her friends were homosexual, but now she just doesn't affiliate with any religion, except her own, which states that there is a God and Jesus is cool but the bible probably isn't true.

This is going to sound strange, but start by forming your own personal bible... it doesn't have to be physically written down anywhere, and it should be entirely about you: your morals, your ethics, etc. For instance, I know that I can/should/will not murder, rape, steal, kidnap, judge, and on and on and on, just stuff that forms my own moral base. From there, I feel better about questioning everything else... and I'm not trying to say that without this, you might murder or rape, it's just that saying it to yourself makes things easier and it gives you firm ground to stand on.